Counseling News from the Week of July 10, 2026
Explanation: Although I scan the Internet primarily for counseling articles, in the process I run across quotes and interesting facts that I sometimes include in these first two sections. If you’re just interested in the counseling articles, you can skip these first two sections and go directly to the section called Counseling Articles. HV
Interesting Quotes
These were compiled by Richard Simmons
“Men would rather be envied for their material success than respected for their character.”
Christopher Lasch
“The world is too dangerous is to live in—not because of people who do evil, but because of people who sit and let it happen.”
Albert Einstein
“If you only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.”
Montesquieu
“I sought good judgement mostly by collecting instances of bad judgement, then pondering ways to avoid such outcomes.”
Charlie Munger
“Wealth isn’t a distinction. If I have no other achievement to my credit than the accumulation of wealth, then I have made a poor success of my life.
John D. Rockefeller
“When I was young, I used to admire intelligent people; as I grow older, I admire kind people.”
Abraham Heschel
“If we’re not being intentionally formed by Jesus himself, then it’s highly likely we are unintentionally being formed by someone or something else.”
John Mark Comer
“It is impossible to govern rightly the world without God and the Bible.”
George Washington
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
Jim Rohn
Fascinating Facts: Nothing important to include in this section this week.
Counseling Articles
Note: Since this past week has celebrated the 250th birthday of our country, I’m including two articles about our country’s founding that I think are especially good. While the first is a 50-minute video it is so informative that I hope you will take the time to watch it and keep the link to pass on to your children and grandchildren.
How America Became an Independent Nation
Back in 1775 the 13 colonies were divided about whether they should fight to become an independent nation. While they resented the various taxes and restrictions Great Britain had placed on them and wanted them lifted, some of them wanted to remain loyal to King George (Great Britain was the world’s superpower at the time), some wanted to fight for independence, and a third group was in favor of independence but believed that it was not prudent to wage war to wage war at that time. The representatives of the 13 colonies Continental Congress had vigorous debates between these three groups but eventually voted to move toward independence and agreed to have Thomas Jefferson write a Declaration of Independence, which he did in 3 weeks. Jefferson read both Latin and Greek, was highly educated, and drew from the insights from Greek and Roman philosophers and from biblical literature. He explained why, in the Declaration, it was necessary for America to fight for independence. One thing that was unique about the Declaration of Independence was that it was not just a statement about rebelling against a country but argued that the right of self-government was a God-given right. After discussion and some emendations (Jefferson was a bit of a narcissist and did not accept corrections easily), it was passed on July 4, 1776. The Signers took their lives into their hands, realizing that if the war was unsuccessful, they would likely be hanged for their insurrection. There is a fascinating video describing these debates and the final decision. While it is 50 minutes long, I highly recommend that you listen to it and keep the link for your children and grandchildren to listen to.
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10 Things to Know About America’s Founding
There are some secularists who are trying to argue that America was founded on secular principles. I’ve looked at the historical data carefully, and while some of the founders were deists, by the end of the Revolutionary period most of them were no longer traditional deists, but believed God had actively intervened in the founding of America (the many bullet holes in Washington’s coat even though he survived being just one of them. An Indian chief remarked tha he had instructed his warriors to kill Washington and some great Spirit must be protecting him). Reflecting on all this, this article summarizes 10 things we can probably confidently affirm about America’s founding.
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Next Gen DSM Gets a New Name — and a New Vision
A few hints about the next generation of the DSM. Its name will be changed to “the Diagnostic and Scientific Manual of Mental Disorders” as part of a broader effort to strengthen its scientific foundation> It will be a constantly updated, AI-enabled resource.” Whether it will be given a shortened title such as the DSM-6 has yet to be decided.
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Can Churches Renew the 'Pursuit of Happiness'?
Thomas Jefferson said that one of the goals of America was to enable the “pursuit of happiness.” But America today is experiencing more depression than ever before, and citizens are less happy than citizens of countries with comparable wealth.
Brad Wilcox discusses a factor that seems central to human happiness and identifies five ways that he believes churches can help their members move toward more happy lives. See if you agree.
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The Benefits of Belief
This five-minute video discusses many benefits of believing in God versus believing there is no God. Worthwhile to listen to.
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There's No Mystery to America's Fertility Decline
Although this topic has been addressed before in this newsletter in recent weeks, this article has some new data. It is true that teens are having fewer children, but the major reason for the fertility decline is women between 20 and 29 not having children. It is possible that a small percentage of these women are putting off children through IVF techniques, but this is always an unknown. It seems that if we want the fertility rate here in the U.S. and in many other similar countries to meet the replacement rate (estimated to be 2.1 children per woman) we will need to do something culturally to encourage young men and young women to see the benefits to marriage and having children during their 20s.
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IFS Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief in Support of Texas App Store Safety Law
You might wonder why I thought this court filing of an amicus brief (friend of the court brief) was important enough to include in a compilation of articles about counseling topics. The reason is this: the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) believes that it is important that parents have control over apps that would allow their children to make purchases on the Internet. The state of Texas had developed a law confirming that parental right. Recently the Fifth Circuit filed an injunction preventing the law from being enforced while it reviews its constitutionality. IFS filed its amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to lift the Fifth Circuit injunction and allow the law to go into effect while the law is being adjudicated. IFS argues that it is important that parents retain the right to determine what apps their children may purchase.
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Front Porch Time: An American Tradition We Need to Revive
In previous generations homes frequently had front porches, and these served as places where families (and sometimes neighbors) could gather, talk, and enjoy being together. Now many modern homes do not have front porches. While this author does not advocate trying to change modern architecture trends, he does suggest some ways that we could encourage the development of family habits that would resemble what used to happen in older front porches.
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The Demographic Miracle of 1776—And What it Means Today
Back in colonial times the average woman had nine children, about double the number of children the women in Europe had at that time. This article describes how families operated in colonial times. While I doubt if the typical family is likely to go back to having nine children, I encourage you to read this article. I believe there are some things we could adopt from the colonial way of living in our lives today that could be helpful.
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America Was Built on Taking Risks. Today's Teens No Longer Do
Some teens do take risks, and sometimes those risks lead to various serious consequences. That is not what this article is about. This is more about the fact that many teens have never had to experience difficulties and learn to overcome them on their own, so they haven’t developed the resilience needed to become independent adults. This author is encouraging parents to encourage their children to develop tasks that require them to take risks and learn to overcome them.
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Beneficial, Not Boring: Why Routines Can Boost Our Mental Health and How to Create Ones That Stick
This may be helpful to some of your clients. Routines have many benefits, including keeping us healthy, organized, and improving our mental health. Consider whether sharing this article might be helpful to share with a few of your clients.
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Bipolar Anger: Why It Happens and How to Manage It
Bipolar disorder can sometimes make it more difficult to manage irritability and anger. This article discusses how to assess whether bipolar disorder is making this more difficult, and suggestions for how to deal with it.
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RSD Triggers “Identity-Level Pain” for People with ADHD
RSD is an abbreviation for Rejection Syndrome Disorder. It is not a formally accepted diagnosis, but many mental health professionals believe it is a valid concept and phenomenon that is worthwhile to consider when working with some clients, including clients with ADHD. People with ADHD are more likely than people in general to suffer from RSD, and the article explains why. It also includes some practical suggestions to help people with ADHD not to be triggered.
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The world’s biggest countries engage in religious persecution
Two of the world’s largest countries, China and India, engage in religious persecution, which primarily affects Christians. In China, the government persecutes Christians and believers of other faiths. In India, Hindus persecute Christians. Please remember to pray for our brothers and sisters in these countries and in other countries where persecution is occurring.
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God’s Children Really Will Live Happily Ever After
If you, or a Christian client, are going through a difficult time, this brief article from Randy Alcorn, can be an encouragement.
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An Autism Breakthrough, or an Illusion? The Fight Over Assisted Spelling
This is from the New York Times, so you won’t be able to read it without a subscription, so I’ll summarize its major points. Some autistic children are nonverbal, and for many years were thought to have low mental abilities. But a new technique called assisted spelling, has been developed, where a helper holds up a screen and has the non-speaking person type out letters on the screen. This has caused professionals to realize some of these nonverbal individuals have normal or even high cognitive abilities. Some have even gone to college and earned degrees and one recently wrote a New York Times bestseller. This has prompted the White House to set up a task force to study the issue. So from a practical perspective, if you are working with a family with a nonverbal autistic individual, help the family be aware of this new approach to helping their loved one communicate with them.
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Christ and His Bride: How Men and Women Tell the Story of the Gospel
I just heard a 3-and-1/2-minute video from Pastor Jeffries, and he mentioned how he believes women can do everything in the church besides being pastors or elders, because pastors are to be the husband’s of one wife. He affirms that women are often very gifted teachers, evangelists and that our Christian churches would often not be here if it were not for the service of Christian women in the past.
Considering his comments I just read this recent book review. I’ve not read this book yet, since it has yet to be released, but it sounds like a good book for Christian men and women to consider reading. God’s Word commands husbands and wives to submit to one another and to recognize each has an important role to play in each other’s lives, in the lives of their families and in the life of their church. A book to consider purchasing.
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I hope you have a wonderful week!
Henry Virkler